Aaron Judge went hitless in four at-bats and struck out three times Friday night at Yankee Stadium. The Major League leading home run leader with 51 has slowed down a bit, but the Yankees don’t always depend on Judge or Juan Soto to win ball games.
Austin Wells with his first career multi-homer game did his part and drove in four runs in the Yankees opening series 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, a good thing because all’s well with Wells. Manager Aaron Boone has noticed the production, good at-bats, and handling starter Marcus Stroman behind the plate.
“This is what we have seen from him the past couple of months,” Boone said. “Those two big at-bats continue to be a presence in our order. The catching was ahead of what we expected. He puts together really good at-bats and he has that power too. We are seeing the experience now and maturity of a good hitter, that’s who we drafted.”
Drafted out of college the Yankees knew Wells was a good catcher and effective hitter. Boone said catching is a demanding spot but with more playing time, Wells is establishing a presence and being good at his position. He has developed more confidence and has shown success in the big leagues.
Wells knows he can hit. His power is something that comes with consistency and patience, and as Boone said Wells is a good hitter at cleanup and batting ahead of Judge. He is protecting Judge in the lineup when the Yankees oppose right-handed pitchers.
The rookie is hitting .346, 5 home runs, 20 RBI in 20 games at cleanup. His two-run homer in a three-run third inning gave the Yankees a 4-2 lead. He provided more cushion for Stroman to get his 10th win with his multi-homer game, as he jumped all over a 1- 1 slider to right-center that put the Yankees in a good place, scoring Gleyber Torres who singled after Soto and Judge struck out swinging.
In the meantime, Wells is taking in the moment. He always had the ability to hit for power, again consistent at-bats and playing time have shown what the Yankees always knew when they drafted him as their first round pick in the 2020 draft from the University of Arizona.
Left handed power in the Yankees lineup and Wells provides that with consistent at-bats. Down the stretch the Yankees lineup is more of a threat in an attempt to hold off the Orioles for first place in a tight race for the AL East division title.
“I’m having a lot of fun with it,” Wells commented about hitting behind Judge in the lineup. “I’m accepting it and embracing the challenge. This is the time to get hot and keep going the rest of the season and the playoffs.”
Wells has hit six home runs with 22 RBI in his last 30 games, and consider this streak started July 21. It’s also his ability to command a game for his pitcher and worked well with Stroman, a Yankees rotation that all say all is good with Wells.
“I feel like he’s getting better as the season progresses,” Stroman said. “Incredible backstop and we all feel amazingly confident with him behind the plate and he’s been swinging it.”
Granted, this is no longer an experiment. Wells is now a constant presence in the lineup and has progressed.
“It’s a lot of fun to catch Stro [Stroman] honestly,” he said. “I feel like you are really like pitching, It’s not like power. You have to have finesse and go after guys. I know he’s having a lot of fun too, For the most part my approach and play has been the same stuff for me.”
He’s also hitting to the opposite field and getting good pitches to hit, signs of progression and noticed more with each at-bat.
Boone has made his choice. Wells will get more playing time and starts over Jose Trevino, though a platoon against lefthanders is not out of the cards. Regardless, the Yankees are coming to know that Wells is their catcher of the future.
“The catching was ahead of where we expected last year, and at the start of this year, we were waiting on the bat to come,” Boone said. “He puts together really good at-bats, and then he’s got that power in there.”
Same situation a while back with the Yankees “Core Four” and a Yankees prospect Jorge Posada, a catcher of their future who developed and became a perennial all-star with four World Series rings to his credit.
A Yankees team now in a tough pennant race with the Orioles, but down the stretch it seems all’s well with Austin Wells.
Rich Mancuso: X (Twitter) @Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso